Russia suspends license on pork import from USA

MOSCOW, March 4. /ITAR-TASS/. Russia’s veterinary and phytosanitary watchdog (Rosselkhoznadzor) officially suspends the effect of the license on pork import from the USA, the service’s official website reports.

“After considering the guarantees of the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) regarding the safety of the produce, including non-usage of beta-agonists and other productivity stimulating agents, including ractopamine, Rosselkhoznadzor deemed possible to permit import of pork into Russian from enterprises of Smithfield Packing Inc #18079 and #413,” the message says.

Meanwhile, the issue of refrigerating enterprises, through which the import would be carried out, remains unsolved. The terms of starting the supplies would be determined after obtaining additional guarantees from FSIS and adoption of a relevant resolution by Rosselkhoznadzor.

The enterprises may also start supplies March 10, 2014. “If they manage to provide us additional guarantees before that date, from this moment on we will start pork supplies from these two US-based enterprises; if not, the terms will be postponed,” representative of Rosselkhoznadzor Alexei Alexeyenko told Itar-Tass.

This refers to two US-based enterprises that were supposed to be granted permission to supply pork to Russia from March 10 after a long-term embargo connected with the usage of growth hormone ractopamine and other agents in culturing animals that are banned in Russia.

March 3, the US refused to receive a delegation of Rosselkhoznadzor experts in Washington, where the following round of talks on Kazakhstan’s accession to WTO should take place.

“Less than 24 hours before the departure, representatives of US embassy notified by email and telephone the head of Russian delegation, deputy chief of Rosselkhoznadzor Nikolai Vlasov, that the visit of Russian experts is unacceptable for the USA,” the Russian watchdog reported. Meanwhile, according to Rosselkhoznadzor, the Kazakh delegation departed to Washington.